News and Inspiration for a Holistic Life and a Heart-Centered Community

Welcome to the third edition of The Creating Calm Network Magazine - News and Inspiration to uplift your day and brighten your world. Each month we will feature articles from our amazing and inspiring hosts on topics from stress relief, to sensational medicine, to heart-centered relationships, healthy eating and more. Take a break from traditional media's doom and gloom - uplift and energize with the hosts of the Creating Calm Network - let's be the change we want to see in the world!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Thingsby Ann WhiteStress Less, Love MoreNovember has as its focus the holiday of Thanksgiving. As a vegetarian and social activist, much of this holiday is antithetical to my spirit – the slaughter of Native Americans when the first pilgrims arrived on the shores, and each year, the slaughter of innocent turkeys to celebrate the first slaughter. Okay – seems a bit dark for the start of an article on giving thanks.But I do love that this holiday shakes up Americans into looking at things for which we are thankful– things we should remember each and every day.Many write a gratitude journal – or make lists of their blessings. I make mental lists of my gratitudes when I am stuck – waiting in traffic, waiting in line, waiting for an appointment. This is a great time to remember all of life’s joys and a real mood changer for me.But another way I ramp up my mood is to think of “my favorite things” – actual experiences that brought me peace, or joy or awe. But remembering an actual experience, it brings back the sensory feelings – the smell of the weather, the feel of the energy, the taste of a food, or the feeling of love or comfort or awe or beauty.

Free Jewish Music Book on Amazon Nov 16th, 2014. Music: Carrier of Intention in 49 Jewish Prayers is an anthology where 40 authors, musicians, cantors and rabbis share their heartfelt stories about meaningful Jewish music. It is available as a free eBook on November 16th, one day only. Paperback available for $23.95 ISBN: 978-1-937207-13-7. Publisher: Creating Calm Network Publishing Group. (860) 221-8510.

It is a fascinating time to live in America. This diagram shows how many of the government are also being paid by Monsanto, the name behind genetic engineering and chemical agriculture sprays. It is being sued as we speak for one billion dollars by the farmers themselves, as no one will buy their GM crops, mainly banned in Europe! It was sued for 90 million dollars for poisoning a whole town. He is also in court against a collective of 5 million Indian farmers who still live on the 'suicide belt'. It was so named following the despair and suicide of thousands of small farmers who bought Monsanto's GM seeds and were then charged a second and third time for them when the farmers saved some and replanted them the next season.Click to read more

When you lose a loved one, grief knocks you over no matter how strong you are. Here are ten strategies that will help you in coping with the transition.1) Feel your Feelings. Allow feelings to bubble up to the surface: shock, anger, denial, sadness, fear. Everyone’s grief is as individual as their fingerprints, so this order is not sacrosanct.2) Understand that grief is messy. Grief is often three steps forward, two steps back. Good days and bad days are part of the deal. If you’re having a particularly good week, don’t be misled into thinking that you’re over the worst of it.3) Don’t fight your emotions. Sit with whatever comes up. The fact that you’re grieving hard simply means you loved hard. Honor your grief instead of running away from it.4) Know that grief has no timetable. Don’t be in a rush; don’t let others rush you. Grief is not like weight loss where you see a predictable result if you put in the work. Don’t judge or compare your grief with another’s.Click to read more

How I Was Able to Write About a Bullying Experience While Serving in the Israel Defense Forcesby Dorit SassonGiving Voice to Your Story

Chapter 10 of my memoir, Accidental Soldier: What My Service in the Israel Defense Forces Taught Me About Faith, Courage and Loveand I’m faced with a daunting task of writing about a bullying scene which is key to solving my problem with a specific garin member, who happens to be British and a new immigrant. His name’s Darren.I’d just arrived at a new kibbutz smack in the middle of the Negev Desert.Fresh from ulpan, I am more confident taking language risks, and especially with soon-to-be inductees from other countries. For the first six weeks of army service, we’ll attend a special ulpan, which is reassuring. But that is still too far away…I need to make sure I’m making an effort to bond with these girls past the point where I’d stopped at Ritamin. It’s my number one concern.Click to read more

FOOD FOR THOUGHT? OR THOUGHT FOR FOOD?

This month we are diverting from our normal exploration of nutrition for the body, and for the next few months we will be looking at the nutrition of the mind. 'You are what you eat' with the body. 'You become what you consume' with the mind. It's pretty obvious that this is true. But isn't interesting that we usually ignore this rule? When it comes to the mind, it wants to be fed compulsively 'More'. More information, more drama, more excitement, more violence, more knowledge, more sex, the absolute latest breaking news… as if it would make a difference in the world if we heard about it 2 hours earlier. This blind and ravenous consumption of media has made our minds heavy with the obesity that what is going on 'out there' is more important than the what is right in front of you 'right now'.The highly processed messages we consume are clogging up the digestive system of the mind, making it nearly impossible to extract what little nutrition is hidden there. A high-fat diet of traumatic television, nasty newsprint and pathological periodicals contributes to the 'heart' disease of the mind, keeping us internally in conflict and judgment, leading to an emotional cardiac arrest and a heartless world. Mental nutrition high with the cholesterol of conflict, conspiracy and creative consumerism, hardens up the arteries of freethinking. Mind-foods full of behavioral preservatives subversively sell us everything from chocolate-chip cookies, to national propaganda, to what a human being is supposed to look like and behave like, thus cementing unasked for belief systems to an unaware consumer.

I Must Be....by The Spiritual LinguistMelanie BrockwellMiracles and Wonder Down Under

Sometimes I feel as if I have fallen out of time. There’s an email from a new friend and I see the sparkles of a life I am destined to live. It takes me into a vision then dissolves leaving me to my present moment, wondering if I am delusional or simply connected.How many times do you need to be reassured before you know that your gifts are real? Is it not so much a matter of numbers but more about who tells you you’re fabulous? Or perhaps the truth will never sink in and you will live out your life in doubt, forever questioning whether you deserve it or not – all that effortless being.I am an oracle. I see-fee-hear and know things that need to be expressed. The adventure I am on is a particularly exciting one. Every day a new reality, every moment an invitation. Stimulated by curiosity and undampened by pauses or storms, my life is a brutal honesty that really does see nought but the beauty of souls yearning to touch and feel, to smell life’s romance, to taste joy, and breathe poetry like wild wild flowers.Click to Read More

A Sweet Ending - Try the Secret Surprise Polish Poppy Seed Cake

Enjoy the flavor of poppy seeds in this delicious cake, accented with the essence of fresh oranges. It's a winning flavor combination. The original Polish cake was usually baked in a tube pan, but this updated recipe uses an attractive Bundt pan. The taste will have you remembering the wholesome delicious pastries we all love. Serve this cake garnished with mandarin or fresh orange segments. Another delightful addition is to top it with apricot cake and pastry filling. It will become one of your favorites.